Thresholds of Change: Modernity and Transformation in the Mediterranean, 1400-1700

A four-week institute for twenty-five
college and university faculty on the history of the late medieval and early
modern Mediterranean world.

This project requests funding for a Summer Institute, which will enable college and university faculty to develop Mediterranean Studies courses and/or infuse Mediterranean Studies content in undergraduate surveys and upper level courses in Western and World History. The project is inspired by the latest evolution of Mediterranean Studies into a key field of historical inquiry. The Institute will focus on the most dynamic period of Mediterranean history, 1400-1700, and the impact of the twin pressures of modernization and globalization. The Institute will acquaint participants with the major themes, approaches, and accomplishments of recent research; familiarize them with the primary and secondary material necessary for creating courses and modules in the field; network them with leading scholars; and provide them with an opportunity to work in one of the widest-ranging repertoires of reproduced Mediterranean primary sources, the collections of the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library.